Harare, Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwean opposition won parliamentary by-elections this week despite a government-sponsored campaign of violence and intimidation. Gangs loyal to President Robert Mugabe beat and harassed voters in two key areas of the capital, but were unable to prevent the disputed seats from going to opponents of Mugabe’s despotic rule. Democrats suffered a setback, though, when the opposition’s deputy leader, Gibson Sibanda, was arrested. Mugabe, 79, who has ruled Zimbabwe for 23 years, has driven the country to famine over the past year through a failed attempt to redistribute land.
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